To use a leave-in meat thermometer: Insert the thermometer at least two inches into the center of the largest muscle or thickest portion of the uncooked meat. The meat thermometer should not touch any fat, bone, or the pan. That would result in an inaccurate temperature reading.
Place the thermometer in the thickest part of the food.
To gauge the temperature of a large piece of meat, insert the thermometer probe through the center of the thickest part of the meat, avoiding any bones, fat, or gristle. Leave the thermometer in the meat for about 10 seconds to allow the temperature to register.
Insert the thermometer THROUGH THE SIDE of the meat to get an accurate temperature reading. The sensing area of thermometers is ½ inch to 2 inches long, so this area must be completely inserted into the thickest, center area of the food.
Test for doneness using a meat thermometer or instant-read thermometer. Insert thermometer through side of cut, tip in the center, not touching bone or fat. Remove steaks and burgers from heat when thermometer registers 5°F lower than desired doneness. Rest your steaks.
Always stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. The surface temperature is always hotter than the center since they cook at different rates, so it's important to take the internal temperature of the meat. Additionally, make sure the thermometer is in the flesh instead of bone for an accurate read.
When roasting meat and poultry, set the oven temperature to 325 °F or higher. Explore the charts below to learn how to get great results every time you cook.
How to use a meat thermometer. Take your food off the heat and insert a clean thermometer probe into the thickest part of the meat or poultry. It is fully cooked when the temperature reaches 75ºC. The thickest part of the meat is usually the centre (for example, of a burger or sausage).
Note: There are three important temperatures to remember when cooking meat or eggs at home: Eggs and all ground meats must be cooked to 160°F; poultry and fowl to 165°F; and fresh meat steaks, chops and roasts to 145°F. Use a thermometer to check temperatures.
Oven-safe Bimetallic-coil Thermometers: This type of thermometer is familiar to most consumers. This is the traditional “meat” thermometer designed to be placed in a food before it goes into the oven. It is generally used for large items such as a roast or turkey. These thermometers show the temperature with a dial.
Test your roast with a fork before you remove it from the pot. If it is done, the fork will go in easily and you'll be able to twist off a forkful of meat. It if is still firm, return the roast to the pot and continue cooking for another hour. Another problem is overcooking the pot roast, leading to dry meat.
More From Good Housekeeping. As far as when you should insert a thermometer in the cooking process, "it should be toward the end of cooking," says Papantoniou. "If you're using a recipe, start checking about 10 minutes before the cook time expires."
A meat thermometer is useful for large joints. Push the probe into the meat as close as possible to the centre (avoiding any bones) and leave it for 20 seconds before taking the reading. Rare beef should read 50C, medium 60C and well done 70C.
According the UK Food Standards Agency pork needs to reach an internal temperature of 75 C for 2minutes, to kill off any harmful bugs. Interestingly enough the US equivalent has recently reduced this temperature down to 62.78 C.
Internal Temperature of Roasts
Roasts include cuts of beef like round roasts, rump roasts and chuck roasts and their internal temperature should read 145°F (medium-rare), 160°F (medium) or 170° (well done).
Roast for 12 mins per 450g/1lb (about 55 mins for a 2kg/4lb 8oz joint) for medium-rare, or 15 mins per 450g/1lb (about 1 hr 10 mins) for medium-well.
Rectal temps are the most accurate. Forehead temps are the next most accurate. Oral and ear temps are also accurate if done properly. Temps done in the armpit are the least accurate.
Most electronic thermometers have a digital display that shows you the temperature reading. Rectal temperatures provide the most-accurate readings for infants, especially those 3 months or younger, as well as children up to age 3. Temperatures taken from the armpit are usually the least accurate.
The placement of the probe is just as important as the depth. Place the probe into the deepest part of the meat, but you must avoid any fat, bones, or gristle as they could make your reading inaccurate. It's also ideal to wait at least ten seconds before you take out the thermometer.
If you don't have a meat thermometer, check your beef is roasted by piercing it with a skewer. The juices should run red for rare, pink for medium and clear for well-done. Also, a meat thermometer should read 40C for rare (it will rise to 54-56C, medium-rare, as it sits) or 48C for medium (it will rise to 65C).
There is such a thing as an overcooked pot roast. If you've ever cut into a fork-tender roast and been surprised by chewy, woody bits of beef – you've got an overcooked roast on your hands.
Meat will continue to cook even after it has been removed from the heat source, a phenomenon known as “carryover cooking.” This happens for two reasons: First, the exterior of a large roast gets hot much more quickly than the interior.
Low temperatue cooking is ideal for roasting the best cuts of meat which are lean and very tender. It is not the same as slow cooking, which is a method of cooking humbler cuts of meat with liquid to tenderise them.
We recommend a temperature of 195-200 °F / 90-93 °C for a tender and juicy roast.